Victims/Survivors Who Use Service Animals

This service animal background paper and the sample policy are designed to inform you about the legal and practical expectations when service animals are present within your agency and its programs. Learning about the legal requirements, developing your own service animal policy, and training staff to apply it consistently helps to alleviate potential liability issues -- for both illegal discrimination and presence of an animal on site.

This is not intended, nor should it be construed to provide specific legal advice, nor is it a comprehensive review of all aspects of the civil rights laws for people with disabilities who use service animals.